The USS Zumwalt Deck Looks Like a Part of an Imperial Star Destroyer

This image is so unreal that it feels like a sci-fi illustration more than a photo. It looks like part of a spaceship—perhaps some structure from an Imperial Star Destroyer—instead of the 1,000-ton deckhouse of the United States' new destroyer USS Zumwalt.

The fact is that the futuristic USS Zumwalt will actually look more like a spacecraft than a traditional destroyer (see the rendering below). First of a new class of ships for the US Navy, the 600-foot-long (182.9 meters) guided missile destroyer is being built in modules at Bath Iron Works' Ultra Hall, in Bath, Maine.

It's the last part of a puzzle that started in 2011. Back in April 2012, the second of the modules rolled out of the Ultra Hall, a 4,500-ton block which was the largest ship module ever moved at their factory. As they manufactured new modules, workers were assembling the others at the dry dock.

The image shows the deckhouse being craned onto the deck. They are now integrating it with the ship's hull, connecting all those pipes and tubes.

According to the company, everything is moving as expected, with the launch and christening of the new ship planned for this year. [US Navy Flickr]